Lost to Time
by Keys Studio
Summary: He didn't mean it. He didn't mean to say those cruel words. He cared for Gray. Now Gray was gone. And Natsu... Well, can Natsu get his best friend back? Character death, slight violence, some cursing, confusion, and depressed Natsu. Friendship in this one, not slash .
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Fairy Tail! It belongs to Hiro Mashima-sama! :D**

**[xXx]**

"You want a piece of me, you fire breathing idiot?!"

"I can kick your butt anytime, anywhere!"

"Oh, yeah?!"

"_Yeah!_"

It was another one of Gray's and my typical fights, the both of us butting heads and our Magic volatile around our bodies, clashing with one another as we growled in anger towards each other. The cause of today's arguement was just for spite, the both of us needing to vent. We haven't been able to lately thanks to Erza constantly breaking it up with just one glance. Now that she was away on an S Class mission, Gray and I could finally bicker and fight it out like always.

"How about right here, right now?!" Gray challenged.

"After you get your clothes on, I will!" I barked. I nearly smirked in satisfaction when he glanced down to see that he was only in his boxers. His reaction was priceless.

_Crack!_

"Will you two knock it off?!" Gramps yelled at us, his enlarged arm receeding back to its normal size. He had knocked us both upside the head, effectively stopping our bickering. At least for the moment. "We just finished rebuilding the Guild Hall, so we don't need you two idiots going and destroying it!"

"Ah, come on!" I whined.

"If you two are going to fight, go outside and do it!" Gramps snapped, crossing his arms.

I glanced at Gray who huffed, finally having his clothes back on. "Fine," he said, beginning to stalk off towards the back where we could bicker and fight it out. I followed. The moment our feet touched the grass, we were at it again, our faces smooshed together and our words harsher and harsher as we spat them out at one another.

"At least I'm not a streaker!"

"What was that, Flame Boy?!"

"You heard me, _Streaker_!"

"That's _it_!"

Gray punched me square in the jaw, showing me no mercy as he did so. I was sent flying back, my body doing three spirals before skidding along the ground. I hadn't been expecting that. I was quick, though, to get back up on my feet. I was soon running back at him, my fist drawn back as a loud battle cry ripped itself from my throat.

My fist connected with the palm of his hand.

He smirked at me, as if challenging me by mentally saying, 'Is that all you got, Fire Boy?'

That made the fire in my stomach burn with a vengence.

I quickly lowered my body, performing a round house kick that knocked him off of his feet. His back connected with the ground easily, knocking the wind out of him. I grinned victoriously before I felt him grab my ankle and pull me down with him. A yelp left my mouth when my back collided with the earth beneath me.

"You jerk!" I growled, kicking him with the foot he had a hold of. He was lucky I didn't kick him in the ribs or else one or two of them would have been busted.

"Watch it!" he spat, pushing me away. We both got back to our feet, glaring daggers. I thought I saw some sparks as well fly between us.

"How about a Magic battle?" I offered, flames surrounding my clenched fists. My Fire Magic heated the around me. "I have a real fire in my belly and I need some target practice.

Gray snorted, stripping himself of his shirt. "You're on," he said in a low tone. He bumped the side of his fist into the palm of his hand in front of him, Ice Magic beginning to chill the air around him. We were both ready to fight it out, one on one. "Ice-Make...!"

"Fire Dragon...!"

"_Hammer!_"

"_Iron Fist!_"

Two things happened at once.

One was that I sent a flame coated punch straight into Gray's gut, making him cough up saliva.

The second was that I was suddenly crushed under the weight of something cold, huge, and wet.

The Ice-Make Hammer melted against my Dragon-like flesh, my body found to be buried in the dirt slightly. My body ached from the impact, but I bet Gray was in much the same shape as me. And judging by his curled-in body and his arms wrapped around his stomach? I would have to say that my guess was pretty spot on.

"You idiot," Gray ground out.

"I'd say it's a tie," I mumbled out at him, sitting up slightly. I heard my back pop and fell back into the ground, suddenly feeling relaxed. "Wouldn't you say so?"

"Ice-Make...!"

"Gray! That's enough," a voice boomed, stopping us both from beginning yet another brawl. We both felt chills roll down our spines at the voice.

_Erza was back_.

"H-heya, Erza..." I managed out, forcing a toothy grin. I lifted up my hand and gave her a wave, though it was as shaky and nervous as my chuckle.

"Y-yeah," nodded Gray, looking over at the S Class Wizard. "H-hey..."

Erza looked at us both evenly, calmly, with her brown eyes narrowed. I wanted to shrink back into the dirt slightly. Gray and I had been caught fighting by her...! I didn't want to think about what she was going to do to punish us for not getting along! Stab us through with her swords? Impale us with her spears? Beat us black and blue with her fists? I shuddered to even imagine it.

She had her hands on her hips, watching us, as if she expected us to say more or do something. Instead, we watched her a bit worriedly and a bit stubbornly. The air was tense and thick. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until it jumped out of my lungs as Erza suddenly broke the silence.

"You two were sparring and sharpening up on your Magic skills, weren't you?"

Gray and I looked at each other. Erza was giving us a scape goat! One that we embraced quickly and without question.

"Yeah!" I grinned, looking back at the woman. "We thought we needed some practice since, you know, we almost got our butts handed to us before." I looked at Gray nervously. "Right, Gray old pal?"

"Yeah, best friend!" Gray jumped, giving a big old grin toward Erza.

She gave us a kind smile in return. "Good," she spoke. "That's what I like to hear." She then helped us both stand. "Master Makarov has a mission for the two of you."

"Wait, just the two of us?" I asked with wide eyes as she lifted me by the scruff of my vest. She then placed me on my feet.

"Me and Natsu?" Gray added on as Erza lifted him by his elbow. "Together?"

After Erza stood him on his feet, she gave a curt nod. "There isn't a problem with that, is there?" she asked us, her eyes beginning to narrow again.

Gray and I wrapped one arm around each other's shoulders, seemingly cheering. "Nope, not one bit!" we declared.

"Right, buddy?!" I cried.

"You got that right, pal!" Gray cried.

"Aye!" we declared in unison.

Erza smiled at our seemingly agreeable friendship. "Good," she mused. The moment her back was turned, Gray and I were face to face, growling lowly at each other. "Natsu, you go get Happy and then the two of you can be on your way." She looked back at us, our growling stopping to look happy to be the best of friends. "Good luck, Gray, Natsu." She then went back inside of the Guild Hall without another glance back at us.

We unlatched from one another, our foreheads clashing together painfully. We were growling and our Magic was volatile once more.

"Maybe I don't _want_ to go on a mission with you!" Gray hissed, pushing against me.

"Yeah, well, maybe _I _don't want to go on a mission with _you_!" I growled in return, pushing back against him.

"I hate you!"

"I hate you, too! And you know what else?!"

"What, Natsu?!"

"I wish I never met you!"

"I wish I never met you, either, you idiot!"

"Do I hear the two of you fighting out there?" called Erza's voice from inside of the Guild.

"No, ma'am!" we both cried, dispersing instantly. It would be no use to fight again with Erza here. We couldn't do another Magic battle either, not with it getting dark out. It wouldn't be the smartest thing, not while we were so close to the Guild.

I huffed and glared at Gray. "So you wish that you never met me?" I asked him.

"Yeah, that's right," snapped Gray, crossing his arms and looking away from me. "And you?"

"Yeah..." I agreed, looking away.

"Then it's settled," he grumbled. "You take Lucy to do the mission."

"No," I snapped. "Erza said that Gramps had the mission for us both. So we might as well do it and get it done and over with."

Gray glanced at me then snorted. "Fine. We'll meet up in the morning to head out."

With that, we parted ways. Gray went to who knows where while I went to go get Happy. I didn't know that the words we spoke would affect us until later.

And it was too late.

**[xXx]**

**Hehehehe~. -w- Cliffhangeeeer~. You guys will know what happens hopefully next week! :D *Has laptop now so everything should be coming waaaaaaaay faster than before. Possibly weekly updates? ;D***

**Read and Review, my pretties! :D**

**~Usagi**


	2. Chapter 2

**Completely random thing - if I ever get married, I want to get married like Elizabeth and William in Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End just because, let's face it, that was an awesome wedding. XD**

**I do not own Fairy Tail! It belongs to Hiro Mashima-sama! :D**

**[xXx]**

It was the next day after my fight with Gray, and I was walking through Magnolia, my supplies for the mission inside of my bag that was on my back. Happy was floating along side me by use of his handy dandy Aero Magic, his mind focused on something. On what, I wasn't sure, but he was certainly focusing on something. I felt a little weird, myself. It was a strange sense of loss, like something I treasured just went missing out of the blue. I didn't think about it too much. I probably just missed something in my bag that I could go get after I met up with Gray at the Guild Hall.

"Natsu, are you _sure_ that Master Makarov gave us a mission?" Happy finally asked. So that was what was on his mind.

"I told you, Happy!" I replied, "Gramps gave us a mission yesterday! We have team up with _Gray_ of all people to go beat up some bandits that robbed a rich guy's place."

"Gray?" Happy questioned, looking at me in confusion.

"Yeah, you know," I frowned. "The guy who strips all the time and uses Ice Magic."

"I think you were dreaming," he told me a bit worriedly.

"I wasn't dreaming!" I defended.

"Then who's Gray? _Your imaginary friend?_"

"I just told you who he was! He's a real person, I swear. Geez, Happy, your memory must be getting worse if you don't remember that icecube."

Happy just shook his head at me, sighing. "What am I going to do with you, Natsu?" he asked more to himself than to me.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" I snapped, shooting flames from my mouth.

"Oh, nothing!"

I grumbled something to myself, seeing the Guild come up into view. I picked up my pace, wanting to get this mission with Gray done and over with. I only took the job cause it would pay for my food for the next week or so, not because I wanted to be with the jerk. Not to mention that Erza persuaded me to just shut up and take the job. (And by persuaded I mean she glared and yelled at me and it scared me into submission, though I would never admit it out loud. She almost pulled out a sword on me.)

I went inside, noting how Happy instantly went to find Wendy and Carla. With a simple shrug, I looked around for Gray. Not seeing him, I couldn't help but frown. He was never late to go on a mission before. Maybe he got sick with a _cold_ or something. Eh? Eh? See what I did there? Ah, forget you. I found it funny, myself.

Seeing Lucy sitting by her lonesome, boyfriendless self at the bar talking to Mira-Jane, I decided to go and ask her if she had seen Gray. It didn't hurt to try, right? Maybe she had seen him and could tell me where he was.

"Hey, Lucy," I greeted. She looked at me in surprise.

"Oh, hey, Natsu," she nodded. "What's up?"

"I'm looking for Gray," I told her in response. "We're supposed to go on a mission together, but he isn't here. Have you seen him?"

"Who are you talking about?" she asked me with a small frown. "There isn't anyone named Gray in the Guild..." She looked at Mira-Jane who looked somewhat baffled. "Do you know who he's talking about, Mira-Jane?"

"I feel like I should, but I don't know," admitted the white haired woman as she picked up a glass to clean. "Maybe Master knows where this person is, Natsu."

"Alright, thanks Mira-Jane," I nodded. Man, first Happy and now Lucy and Mira-Jane? What has gotten into everyone? Gray couldn't have just been wiped from everyones' minds! I mean, I remember him. Maybe Erza did too, but judging from a quick glance at her sitting in the corner by herself, agitated by something, I decided to just go ahead and go straight to Gramps. I didn't feel like becoming a Dragonslayer shish kabob, today, after all.

I found him sitting with his legs crossed, his staff across his lap, and his arms crossed across his chest on the counter of the bar. He was thinking to himself, but I needed to talk to him. "Hey, Gramps," I said, catching his attention. When he hummed for me to go on, I asked him what I had asked Lucy. "Have you seen Gray anywhere?"

"Gray?" Gramps asked me with a deep frown. He looked up in thought. "I don't know who that is, Natsu."

"I fight with him all the time!" I cried out, finally beginning to get annoyed with nobody knowing who I was talking about. I mean, seriously? Who can forget that stripping show-off? Was this some sort of sick joke that everyone was trying to pull on me? I wasn't finding it very funny. I was beginning to get fired up in agitation. "You know, the guy who strips all the time and we always have to tell him to put his clothes back on and he freaks out cause he never notices when he strips! He's an Ice Wizard and he does this," I held out one hand sideways in front of me and smacked the side of my fist into my palm, "and says 'Ice-Make' something or other! Gray Fullbuster, come on! You know who he is, Gramps!"

"I'm sorry, Natsu," apologized Gramps, "but there has never been a member of the Fairy Tail Guild by the name, let alone Gray Fullbuster."

"What are you talking about, Gramps?!" I cried in annoyance. I stopped short, however, when I felt an armor clad hand on my shoulder.

"That's enough, Natsu," Erza told me, lightly squeezing my shoulder. She then looked at Gramps. "I have a vague idea as to who he is talking about. Let me handle this, Master." After Gramps nodded his approval to her, she dragged me off towards the infirmary. She then sat me down on one of the beds, looking down at me with her arms crossed. "Explain."

"Explain what?" I asked her.

"Who Gray is to us. I feel like I should remember him, but every time I try to think about him at all, my head starts to pound and the pain distracts me."

My eyes widened slightly. So... It wasn't some joke? Everyone really did forget? "He's our friend and team mate," I told her. "He helped with the Eisenwald incident, the cursed island place..." I continued to list off what all Gray had done with us, noting that with every mission I listed off, the more and more pain that crossed Erza's face, as if she was trying to remember. I then told her what all I knew of him and who he was to me and to her both, going a bit into personal levels.

"He was a friend...?" Erza whispered to herself. She then slammed her fist into the bed behind her, effectively smashing it in half. "How can I be so forgetful? Especially of a friend...! Natsu, I beg of you, punch me until you are satisfied. Don't hold back, either..."

"Erza, that won't do either one of us any good, and you know it," I told her with a sigh. I shook my head then looked back up at her. "I want to know. When we went to fight those Dark Guild guys with the Allied Guilds, was there someone by the name of Lyon in the Lamia Scale Guild group? I need to know."

"I do seem to recall that there was someone there by that name," Erza told me truthfully, already over the whole 'hit me' thing. "Why do you ask?"

I stood from the bed. "We're going to go do the mission I was given right now together, and then we are going to go find Lyon. He's the only chance we have of finding out what happened to Gray."

"What makes you think that he will have the information that we need?"

"He grew up with him. If anyone knows Gray as well as I do, maybe even more so, then it's Lyon. He should remember him, even if everyone else doesn't."

**[xXx]**

**Read and review please! :3 I can't write if I don't have reviews to encourage me, people! I love you all!**

**~Usagi**


End file.
